New Letter Shows C.S. Lewis 'Absolutely Opposed' Film Version of 'Narnia'

In a recently-released letter written by C.S. Lewis, the author and scholar writes that he was "absolutely opposed" to a live-action film or television version of his books in The Chronicles of Narnia series.

"Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare," he said in a letter dated Dec. 19, 1959 to BBC producer Lance Sieveking, shortly after the BBC produced a radio version of Lewis's The Magician's Nephew. In 1988?well after Lewis' death in 1963--the BBC produced a live-action television miniseries of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Disney is currently working on a series of films based on the classic books.

The letter, which was published on the literary website nthposition.com, also shows that Lewis was not opposed to a cartoon version of his work, "if only Disney did not combine so much vulgarity with his genius!" Disney's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is set to be released Dec. 9.

According to the BBC, the C.S. Lewis estate approved both the BBC series and the Disney movie. Lewis's stepson, Douglas Gresham, oversees the C.S. Lewis estate and is also a co-producer of the upcoming film.

"My job, I suppose, was as resident Narnia guru, to make sure everything Narnian was Narnian in the film, to make sure there weren't anachronisms and incongruities," Gresham recently told the Associated Press. "But to be honest with you, the team that we have had on this film has been so good that there's been very little that I've had to complain about."